The Day I Met You
by Hoshiakari Mitsukai
Summary: There is really no good reason to deny that a certain ebony-haired girl absolutely loved the Day of Hearts. Set a year before "Your Smile Saved Me", except for the last part, which happens after the said story. Phinabella forever! :


A/N: Hey there, readers! Mitsukai's back... and with a new story to boot! Consider this a late Valentine's Day present from yours truly. ;)

I give you the Valentine's Day Special of the "Save Me" series: "The Day I Met You"!

Enjoy! :D

* * *

There was no reason to deny that Isabella Garcia-Shapiro loved Valentine's Day.

She loved it because it was the day she baked her first strawberry shortcake, at the mere age of five. She remembered how the combination of tangy and sweet sent a tingle through her tongue upon tasting it, and how warm she felt inside when she had shown it to her mother, who had smiled and patted her head affectionately.

She loved this particular day, for it was the very day she had moved to Danville. She remembered how she had clung to her mother, nervous and scared, asking to go home. But her mother had just patted her head, raised her chin and had spoken to her in a familiar motherly tone.

_"You _are_ home, Isabella. You musn't feel scared now. You are my brave little girl, aren't you?"_

_Gently, her mother pried her daughter's hands off her dress and gave her a kiss on the forehead. _

_"You will manage, Issa. Now, feel free to explore while I tend to the new house. Just take care of yourself and be back by six, all right?"_

_In spite of the fact that dread almost drove her to rush back to the said house, Isabella sucked in a breath and started walking around aimlessly, trying to find some company. She had almost given up on finding someone to befriend... when fate seemed to do the work for her. _

_A strong gust of wind blew at her so suddenly that she had almost no time to react as the purple bow that rested on top of her head flew away with it. It was out of sight before she could even take one step. A surge of panic instantly coursed through her and she rushed to catch up to it, forcing her little feet to run faster than she'd ever had before, searching every nook and cranny she could find for any sign of the tattered bow._

_It took a few minutes for her to lose what little hope she had left, and she slowly dragged her feet back to her new home, sinking to her knees on the sidewalk right across from it in despair. She buried her head in her hands, fighting to hold back tears. Even if it was tattered and filled with grime, that bow was her favorite one. A gift from the father she never knew. The only tangible remembrance she had of him. And now... _

_Now, it was gone...? Just like that...?_

_She bit her lip, trying to hold her trembling at bay. And it was then that she heard a voice._

_"Does this belong to you?"_

_Her head snapped up from her hands... her blue eyes immediately locking onto identically cerulean orbs._

She loved this day, for it was the day she had received the pink bow that currently adorned her ebony hair... from a certain blue-eyed redhead named Phineas Flynn.

Isabella loved this day because it was the day she had contracted yet another bout of those horrible hiccups. Contrary to her belief that Phineas would appear with yet another haunted house to scare it out of her, he had arrived at the Garcia-Shapiro's doorstep with nothing but a large stuffed bear. He had then proceeded to ask her mother if he could stay for a while, which had led to him taking care of her until the end of the day.

Needless to say, Isabella had wished for her hiccups to return immediately once they had passed. The giant bear, now named Phin, lay on her bed, always ready for snuggling whenever the young girl needed it.

* * *

Isabella loved Valentine's Day, simply because it was a day of love, care... and of the heart.

So now, as she sat on a bench atop the only hill that overlooked the whole of Danville, with a sleeping Phineas cradled in her lap, she couldn't help but to smile softly down at him.

She stroked the boy's red hair gently, so as not to awaken him. They had had a great, fun and tiring day, brought about by the Flynn-Fletcher brothers' usual summer shenanigans involving yet another rollercoaster, that she had been so sure no one would even remember that it was the much awaited Day of Hearts today.

But she was proven wrong, however impossible it may have seemed.

_"You coming, Phineas?"_

_Ferb rarely ever said anything out loud, even in front of his friends. So it surprised Isabella enough for her to halt in midstep when she heard him call his brother._

_"Yeah, I will. But... I just wanna show something to Isabella before she gets home. You okay with that, bro?"_

_Said girl stiffened upon hearing her name. It took a nanosecond for her to retrace her steps, away from her doorstep and back to the Flynn-Fletcher's backyard. She peeked over the white fence just in time to see Ferb nod at Phineas, who stood by the backyard entrance, and he turned to enter the house. _

_"I'll wait inside."_

_Isabella swore she saw the green-haired boy's mouth quirk upwards into a knowing smile before he disappeared from her line of vision... and Phineas came to replace him almost immediately, grinning like an idiot. It was all the poor girl could do not to stop breathing. He had obviously been expecting her to listen in on the conversation. _

_"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go, Issa!" _

_He held out his hand for her to take. No sign of anger for her eavesdropping, she realized with a start. But then again, when had she ever seen Phineas angry? She didn't know about the others, but Isabella saw nothing but smiles whenever she was around the boy. The mere possibility of actually being the reason for those smiles filled her insides with warmth._

_Reluctantly, she took the offered hand and allowed herself to be pulled toward the large tree in the backyard... only to frown in confusion when Phineas led her to the back of its large trunk and closed his eyes, telling her to do the same. He had caught wind of her expression almost instantly._

_"You trust me, right?" _

_Even though she had no idea what to expect, she closed her eyes as well. _

_"Yep."_

_The sound of a button being pushed almost made her snap them open again in alarm, but she tightened her grip on Phineas' hand instead. He wouldn't let anything harm her. She felt a tingling sensation in her whole body as she felt her feet leave the ground for a split second and then land gently on a strangely unfamiliar surface._

_Wait, what?_

_This time, she couldn't resist the need to open her eyes. So she did._

_And what she saw almost made her faint._

_From the Flynn-Fletcher backyard, the two of them had somehow been transported, most likely with the help of another contraption of theirs, to a hill that overlooked their city of Danville. From this particular place, she clearly saw the way the city was bathed in a warm orange glow with the rays of the setting sun. Isabella had to tear her eyes away from the captivating view to glance at Phineas, who caught her gaze and shrugged. With a jolt, she realized their hands were still intertwined._

_"I come here whenever I just wanna relax after a hard day's work."_

_He motioned her to sit down with him on the bench nearby, still refusing to let go of her hand. For a few moments, they merely sat there, watching the last rays of the sun disappear in shades of red and orange. It was Phineas who broke the silence._

_"You know what day it is today... right, Issa?"_

_Isabella saw the red-headed boy's eyes flash with an emotion that went as quickly as it had come, and she felt her cheeks burn up._

_So someone _had_ remembered, after all._

_"Um... V-Valentine's Day...?"_

_Phineas didn't say anything for a while after that. _

_He remained silent even as he conjured up a bouquet of pink and orange roses from behind his back like magic._

_He remained silent even as he placed them on her lap and raised his hand so he could move a strand of her ebony hair behind her ear._

_He remained silent even as he leaned in ever so slightly, so that their foreheads almost touched._

_He remained silent even as he closed the distance between them with a simple, chaste kiss._

_Of course, Isabella had no way of objecting to _that.

_So she did what any normal 13-year-old girl in her situation would think of doing._

_She simply went with the flow._

_The rest, as everyone may say, is history._

"I love you, Phineas."

Isabella placed her lips on the boy's forehead, and she swore she saw a smile creep onto his face in his slumber.

* * *

A year later, as the ebony-haired girl lay on her bed, her eyes half-lidded with exhaustion and slight sorrow, refusing to surrender to the arms of Morpheus...

...she felt a different pair of arms, gentle yet firm, embrace her from behind. They tightened their hold on her, as if to say, "You can rest now. I'll be here."

Isabella felt her mouth twitch into a soft smile as her eyes finally closed. She was safe within these arms... as she had been her whole life.

A cool breeze ruffled her hair from her bedroom window, which was slightly ajar. The gentle caress of a hand on her cheek... soft lips on her forehead... and a whisper in her ear... were the last things she felt and heard before she succumbed to the clutches of unconsciousness.

"I love you too, my dear princess."

* * *

There was no reason to deny that Isabella Garcia-Shapiro loved Valentine's Day.

For this was the day that her destiny was intertwined with that of another.

For it was the day that her prince came to his princess' side.

For it was the day... that her heart found its other half, at last.

* * *

A/N: And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen! The special Valentine's Day installment of the "Save Me" series!

If you don't really understand the last part, please take time to read my other Phinabella story and the first installment of the aforementioned series, "Your Smile Saved Me." Rest assured, you'll get it once you've read it. :)

I would greatly appreciate your reviews and comments for both of these stories! Please keep all criticisms constructive!

Thank you for reading, everyone!

Stay tuned for the prequel to "Your Smile Saved Me", okay? :D


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